


You make me 17, 17, 17

by poutykook



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Age Difference, Eventual Smut, Feelings, Fluff, I suck at tagging, M/M, Secret Relationship, best friends mark and jaemin, father jaemin, jaemin is flustered and confused, jeno is in love, renjun & jeno best friends
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-12
Updated: 2019-08-12
Packaged: 2020-08-23 20:35:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20216437
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/poutykook/pseuds/poutykook
Summary: Jaemin was not a complicated man. He had a relatively clear understanding of what was good and what wasn’t, he knew the limit between acceptable and unacceptable. His moral compass was very strong and he always considered what was the most ethically correct choice before choosing his actions. However, a certain reunion was about to change his life. That person would make him reconsider his entire morals and question his values.or Jaemin has been Jeno's childhood crush since forever and his dream is about to come true





	You make me 17, 17, 17

**Author's Note:**

> don't read if age difference makes you uncomfortable :(  
only adults involved though dw  
im excited for this fic though i hope you guys like it  
also english isn't my first language blah blah
> 
> pls enjoy

Jaemin was not a complicated man. He had a relatively clear understanding of what was good and what wasn’t, he knew the limit between acceptable and unacceptable. His moral compass was very strong and he always considered what was the most ethically correct choice before choosing his actions. He’d had a hard life full of obstacles, the main changing event of his life being the beginning of his fatherhood at only 19 years old. It hadn’t been planned, and was initially perceived as a huge problem but as soon as the baby was born, and that Jaemin carried him in his arms he swore to god that he would work his absolute hardest to give this baby the best life possible. He was ready to make all the sacrifices if it meant giving his child all the opportunities to grow up happy and flourish as an individual. It had been very hard for him, first sacrifice being giving up his dreams and not going to college where he would have studied liberal arts. Instead, he’d had to juggle three jobs to be able to fulfill his family’s needs. He didn’t have his parents’ support anymore, them having denied him ever since the announcement of the pregnancy. However, it hadn’t been all bad. He’d had his older sister’s full support and help in brining up his child, and his best friend, Mark, had offered him a mediocre job in his father’s very big company which later offered him a ton of great opportunities. He was forever grateful for those people and wouldn’t have been able to raise his child without their help. They were angels sent by god in his eyes, and he would be willing to do absolutely anything for them.

There he was, single father at 36 years old with a successful career made from scratch. Despite not having gone to college, he now had an important job in Mark’s company with a high salary, he had his own house, he could give himself and his son the good quality of life they deserved. He was a careful and put together man who never did anything without thinking about it at least twice.

His son, Renjun, was 18 and was approaching the end of his high school career. He was a smart, kind and joyful kid that knew the value of things and reminded Jaemin of himself at this age. He was the most important thing in the world in Jaemin’s eyes, and he loved him more than anything. He had always put Renjun first and done his best to make him happy, and the result was there, Renjun had wonderfully grown as a person and was liked by everyone due to his golden personality, and was amazingly talented and wanted to pursue his dreams as a musician. They had a really close relationship and got along very well, with Jaemin having a naturally outgoing personality and Renjun with his usual happiness and optimism. He was the most precious thing to Jaemin and he wouldn’t hesitate to literally destroy the person who ever dared hurt his kid.

However, a certain reunion was about to change his life. That person would make him reconsider his entire morals and question his values. That person was going to emotionally change him forever, and make him rediscover himself and bring up some aspects of him he thought he’d left behind years and years ago.

***

Jaemin was peacefully hanging his clothes in his closet when he heard the bell ring, announcing the arrival of the one person that was about to throw his whole world upside down.

He wondered who it could be, not expecting anyone. He walked towards the front door and opened it, to be surprised by a face he hadn’t seen in quite a while.

“Oh my god, Jeno?”

He let out, taken aback by the identity of the man standing in front of him.

“The one and only,” the man replied, smiling fondly at him, his eyes becoming tiny little crescents. Jaemin should’ve known, the way Jeno was looking at him intensely, something twinkling in his eyes as he grinned widely at him.

“I- Come in, come in,” Jaemin beamed at the younger man and stepped aside to let him enter the house.

Jeno thanked him and looked around the living room, smiling as he recognized most of the interior.

Jaemin looked at him, pleasantly surprised to see him after so long. He was Renjun’s childhood best friend, despite being older than him. They had grown up together, being inseparable. Jeno always came to their house to hang out with his son, and Jaemin had the habit of taking the two of them on outings most weekends. They were the cutest pair of little kids, and he was very fond of Jeno as he had been Renjun’s first true friend. They stayed close until Jeno went to high school, after that he had left town to study somewhere else. Jaemin hadn’t seen him in three years, and he had sure grown a lot since.

“Well how are you? What brings you here?” he asks, all smiles as he guided Jeno to the couches and sat down.

“I’m doing just fine, thank you. Actually, I dropped out of my university. Turns out architecture isn’t really my thing, I didn’t like it as much as I thought I would. So I’m back and probably going to study here too.” Jeno spoke with a voice much deeper than Jaemin recalled. His eyes were on Jaemin the whole time, and he couldn’t wipe the smile off his face.

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. But it’s a good thing that you’re not pursuing it if it’s not something you enjoy,” he gave him a reassuring smile. He knew exactly what it was to do something you didn’t like, himself having to do a lot of crappy jobs before finding his ideal career.

“Yeah, that’s true, I’m just a bit frustrated that it took me three years to realize that.” Jeno licked his lips and Jaemin didn’t seem to notice the way he very briefly looked at him from head to toe.

“So do you know what you are going to study now?” He crossed his long legs as he laid back in his couch, paying full attention to the other.

“Actually, I’m thinking about doing a computer engineering course. I found a few universities here that look really good, so I’m hoping I can get in.” Jeno was sitting with his legs spread, elbows resting on his thighs as he joined his hands together when talking. He was a bit slouched but still seemed quite tall, and his figure had changed a lot from a lanky teenager to a built up young man.

“I’m sure you will. You’re very clever,” Jaemin smiled as he noticed all the changes in Jeno’s face. First, he had bleached his hair, which Jaemin noticed was trendy these days and he usually thought it was too much but somehow Jeno pulled it off pretty well. He had also grown into his features, his face looking more like a man’s rather than a boy’s. His jawline was more square and very sharp, and he overall just looked a lot older.

Jeno smiled at his praise and looked down for a moment, seeming slightly flustered.

“Thanks, I wouldn’t say very clever but I have my ways.” He set his gaze back on Jaemin. “What about you, how are you doing? You look great, if I didn’t know any better I’d think you were a college student.”

Jaemin laughed and adjusted his hair which was parted in the middle.

“Wah, thanks, I’m glad you think so,” he replied, smiling sheepishly. “What about you though, how old are you now, 20?”

“21, actually,” Jeno corrected, his happy grin not leaving his face.

“Oh, I forgot to ask, you came here to see Renjun right? Does he know you’re in town?”

“No I haven’t told him, I came because I wanted to surprise him,” he replied.

“That’s very sweet of you, I’m sure he’ll be really happy to see you. He should be here soon, in about half an hour. Do you want anything to drink while we wait?” Jaemin asked, getting up.

“I wouldn’t mind that, what do you have?”

He noticed how Jeno’s gaze never left Jaemin’s figure even as he walked to the kitchen.

“I’ve got some juice, or maybe some beer? I’m not really sure what to offer you, because I’m used to giving you kid drinks but I assume you’d like a beer a lot better,” Jaemin smiled to Jeno as he looked at him from the fridge.

“A beer would be really nice, thank you,” Jeno replied politely.

Jaemin got a cold bottle of beer for Jeno and a cup of ice tea for himself, and brought them back to the living room, placing them on the small glass table.

He thanked him and they started sipping on their refreshing drinks. Summer was about to begin, and it had already started getting quite hot.

They had continued to chat and to catch up, waiting for Renjun to get back. It was a strangely comfortable mood, Jeno being very mature and Jaemin enjoying making conversation with him. He felt Jeno’s eyes set on him at all times, but decided not to think anything of it. They talked about a lot of things, reminiscing about the time when Jaemin and Renjun were still kids, and also discussing his plans for the future regarding his studies.

They didn’t even notice the time fly by when they suddenly heard the front door open.

“I’m home,” Renjun said nonchalantly, not noticing them in the living room, putting his backpack on the floor.

Jaemin grinned at Jeno and called out for his son.

“Sweetie, there’s a surprise for you,” he said excitedly, impatient to see his son burst with joy at his best friend’s sudden visit.

“What’s- Oh shit Jeno is that you?!” Renjun let out in a high pitched voice, his eyes big and round and his mouth wide open, visibly surprised and not expecting to see his old friend.

Said Jeno smiled and opened his arms to Renjun, walking towards him, a bright smile on his face.

“What’s up bro,” Jeno chuckled as Renjun threw himself in his arms.

“What are you doing here? And what- Did you know?” Renjun’s eyes were twinkling with joy as he asked his friend and then his father.

“Not until he showed up,” Jaemin replied, arms crossed, his heart feeling warm at the sight of his son so happy and excited.

“Oh my god, that’s so great! How long are you here for? Where are you staying?” Renjun broke the hug to hold his friend’s shoulders and bounce excitedly like a happy puppy.

Jeno was beaming at his shorter friend, also overjoyed by their reuniting.

“I’m living here now, and I got some crappy place in town but only temporarily,” he replied, illuminating smile never leaving his face.

“Why don’t you guys go upstairs and do some catching up while I cook us some dinner?” Jaemin asked kindly, sliding his hands in his back pockets.

“Actually, I can’t stay for dinner tonight because I’ve got to meet up with the landlord for something about my apartment, so I can’t stay long. But I can come back another time if you want me to,” Jeno replied, supposedly addressing Renjun in that last sentence, but for some reason he had looked at Jaemin while saying it.

“That’s too bad. Why don’t you come back for dinner tomorrow? And you can even sleep over if you want,” he said with a smile while Renjun had already started blabbering excitedly about some stuff the two of them could do in town now that he was back.

Jeno smiled at Renjun and patted his head, nodding before looking at Jaemin.

“Thank you, that would be really nice. I probably have to go now,” he said, looking at his watch.

“Oh, do you want me to drop you off?” Jaemin asked.

“No don’t worry, I’ll take the bus and not bother you, thank you though. Alright Renjunnie, I’ll call you later? Sorry I couldn’t stay much longer,” Jeno said and hugged his friend once more.

They chatted for a bit while Jaemin grabbed his son’s backpack from the floor and opened the front door, enjoying the warm outside air. After having said goodbye to each other, Jeno turned towards Jaemin and smiled at him fondly, with a mysterious twinkling in his eyes, a gaze with a meaning Jaemin couldn’t exactly decipher.

“Thank you so much…” Jeno said but stopped, seeming unsure of how to address Jaemin now that he wasn’t a child anymore.

“Just call me Jaemin,” he giggled and crossed his arms over his chest. He briefly remembered Jeno’s habit of calling him “mister Jaemin” when he was still a kid.

Jeno’s smile grew even bigger, if possible.

“Thank you Jaemin, I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said, once again apparently talking to Renjun in that last part but his gaze was still on Jaemin while he talked.

The man exchanged a few final words with his friend and then walked away, waving back at them before exiting through the gate.

Jaemin smiled to himself as he closed the front door. Today’s encounter had been really pleasant and he was happy that Jeno was back in Renjun’s life. He was a really great kid with a golden heart and was a good influence on his son. He was glad that his son’s friend had also grown up to be a lovely young man with great aspirations, and admired him a lot for it.

“Geez, Jeno sure changed a lot,” he said to his son.


End file.
